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WRaP is a collection of research papers and university publications. It presents the academic and creative work of the university. You are welcome to look for and obtain items of interest and make contact with the authors and creators.

Abstract

Purpose Sprint interval training (SIT) provides a
potent stimulus for improving maximal aerobic capacity
(V˙ O2max ), which is among the strongest markers for
future cardiovascular health and premature mortality.
Cycling-based SIT protocols involving six or more ‘all-out’
30-s Wingate sprints per training session improve V˙ O2max ,
but we have recently demonstrated that similar improvements
in V˙ O2max can be achieved with as few as two 20-s
sprints. This suggests that the volume of sprint exercise
has limited influence on subsequent training adaptations.
Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine
whether a single 20-s cycle sprint per training session can
provide a sufficient stimulus for improving V˙ O2max.
Methods Thirty sedentary or recreationally active participants(10 men/20 women; mean ± SD age: 24 ± 6 years,
BMI: 22.6 ± 4.0 kg m−2, V˙ O2max: 33 ± 7 mL kg−1 min−1)
were randomised to a training group or a no-intervention
control group. Training involved three exercise sessions
per week for 4 weeks, consisting of a single 20-s Wingate
sprint (no warm-up or cool-down). V˙ O2max was determined
prior to training and 3 days following the final training
session.Results Mean V˙ O2max did not significantly change in the
training group (2.15 ± 0.62 vs. 2.22 ± 0.64 L min−1) or
the control group (2.07 ± 0.69 vs. 2.08 ± 0.68 L min−1;
effect of time: P = 0.17; group × time interaction effect:
P = 0.26).
Conclusion Although we have previously demonstrated
that regularly performing two repeated 20-s ‘all-out’ cycle
sprints provides a sufficient training stimulus for a robust
increase in V˙ O2max, our present study suggests that this is not the case when training sessions are limited to a single sprint.